Health

The Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre sounded alarms nationally about gaps in mental health care and led to calls for better screening and services, especially for young people showing a propensity for violence, but some key reforms enacted in the wake of the shooting depend on funding that has yet to be delivered by Congress.

Providence St. Joseph Health, the Renton-based owner of Spokane-area hospitals and clinics, is in talks with Ascension Health of St. Louis about a possible merger, the Wall Street Journal has reported. A decision could be reached by late December, a source told The Spokesman-Review.

Gene therapy has freed 10 men from nearly all symptoms of hemophilia for a year so far, in a study that fuels hopes that a one-time treatment can give long-lasting help and perhaps even cure the blood disease.

Modern birth control pills that are lower in estrogen have fewer side effects than past oral contraceptives. But a large Danish study suggests that, like older pills, they still modestly raise the risk of breast cancer, especially with long-term use.

New, long-acting drugs may hold hope for millions of people who often suffer migraines. Studies of two of these medicines, given as shots every month or so, found they cut the frequency of the notoriously painful and disabling headaches.

Diabetes is a metabolic disease that affects your blood sugar regulation. Diabetics have higher than normal blood sugars and over time high blood sugars damage just about everything in your body, especially the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and heart. Control of high blood sugars reduces the damage to the body’s organ systems. As of yet, there is no cure for it but technology continues to make great strides in the treatment of this serious condition.

In an investigation published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Biology, researchers from the University of California at San Francisco claim that newly uncovered historical documents indicate the sugar industry never disclosed the findings on the effect of sugar and fats on cardiovascular disease and effectively misled the public to protect its economic interests.

Research suggests that the value of cognitively stimulating activities builds up over a lifetime. That means acquiring a good education; working in a job that is mentally stimulating; and engaging in pastimes, hobbies and social activities that are mentally engaging are all part of reducing your risk for developing dementia.

A group of scientists, physicians and public health officials is calling for a nationwide research initiative to better understand the health effects of man-made fluorinated compounds, such as those leaked into drinking water from Fairchild Air Force Base.

TRANSITIONS -- The Outdoors Blog is evolving. After nearly 41 years as Outdoors editor at The Spokesman-Review, Rich Landers has officially retired. He will continue writing occasionally as an Outdoors ...

Another potential constitutional controversy involves lawmakers and their social media accounts. The ACLU of Washington said last week legislators should not be blocking people with whom they disagree or deleting ...